Part 1.4: Main Banner Design Ideas

I have changed the colour of the map to blue on Corel Draw, which makes it blend in more with the Lowry and Imperial War Museum sections, and made the "North West Scene" title more colourful with a range of different fonts, in order to make it more appealing to children. Furthermore, I have changed the colour of the white borders surrounding the three sections to yellow, which makes the banner stand out more and present a greater visual impression.

I have added extra pictures across the banner in order to separate each section, and make the middle section look more engaging. I have added Ben Wood's map, plus text which I have written myself in the centre, and this helps provide an introduction to the best parts of the North West in general. However, I feel that the areas of white do look rather dull and plain, and I have been advised by Mr Bigland to experiment with different colours in the background to make the banner look more appealing, especially to children.

I have changed the pictures and shortened the text regarding the Lowry and The Imperial War Museum parts of the banner. I have also changed the layout with the Imperial War Museum at the top, the map and introduction in the centre, and the Lowry at the bottom. The text on both designs are now easier to read, and the sections are laid out better, with the text and outside photos depicting the architecture and design of the buildings , plus side photos depicting the inside attractions of them both.

After I had finished putting the text for the Lowry and Imperial War Museum into my own words, and added them to background pictures I had taken, I placed them onto the banner inside the border, and decided to split the banner up into three sections, with the map and introduction at the top, Imperial War Museum in the middle and the Lowry at the bottom.

I decided to create a border to go around the outside of my banner, consisting of images from the internet which are places of interest and attractions in the North West area. This took roughly about two hours to complete, as I had to first find and research the greatest and most eye catching places to visit in the area, and then select the best images of them.

Unit 1.4: Banner- Imperial War Museum Ideas

I have chosen a different photo which fits with my banner design plans more easily, and have cut down and enlarged the text so that it is easier to read from a distance.

My second step involved choosing a photo of the Imperial War Museum North which I had taken myself, and placing the text against a sky background, making it easier to read. This worked quite well, as the sky in the photo covers almost half of the picture. Unfortunately though, this design was portrait, making it cumbersome and different to the Lowry design, plus the part I had designated for the text was rather narrow, which meant that the text could not be made any larger or easy to read from a distance.

This was my original idea for the layout of the Imperial War Museum part of the banner, with the text on the right on a pure white background, and the pictures (sampled from the internet) on the left. However, as with the first Lowry design, the white background made the text look dull and rather empty, so I decided to use the same idea of placing the text in the sky that I had incorporated in that design (see second above picture).

Unit 1.4: Banner- Lowry Section Layout Ideas

After cutting the text down significantly, I managed to create a lighter, easier to read paragraph outlining the features of the Lowry building. I was just about able to squeeze this in the sky at the top, and have inserted 'The Lowry' as a title in the bottom right hand corner. I think that this design is far superior to the others, because it manages to make the information very clear, whilst keeping the banner attractive, and not spoiling the picture.

After a while, I came up with the idea of placing the text in front of the sky, as this made it both easy to read and it didn't spoil the picture. I selected the photo with the most sky, and then proceeded to copy and paste the text which I had created into the sky area. However, there was a bit too much text, and I was forced to extend the sky area by a fraction, and even cram some of my writing in near the bottom. I realised that I needed to cut down on the existing text and only use it at the top, as the ground proved a bit too dark.

After I had taken my own photographs of the Lowry, Imperial War Museum North and the Octagon, I decided that my design would look much more engaging if I used faded versions of my own images in the background instead of plain white. The problem was that this made the text quite hard to read from a distance, and you could not see the pictures clearly enough. I then realised that I would either need an uncomplicated image with lighter colours in contrast to the black text, or stick with my original plan and use a white background with images on either side of the text.

Above was my initial idea for the layout of the Lowry section of the banner, with sample images from the internet. However, although the plan proved to be effective with images on either side, I found that the text in the centre looked rather dull and plain with just a plain white background.

Unit 1.4: Images of the Lowry, Imperial War Museum and Octagon taken by me

I went out one afternoon, and borrowed Ben Wood's (my unit partner) camera in order to take photos of the Lowry, Imperial War Museum and Octagon, as 75% or more of the main pictures on the banner have to be our own. Above from top is a montage of photos of The Lowry, a photo of the Lowry from the Imperial War Museum car park, a montage of Imperial War Museum photos and a montage of Octagon photos.

Unit 1.1: Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Film Review

When I went to see this film at the cinema, I knew it would be worthwhile. So far, all the Harry Potter films have been brilliant, especially the earliest ones. Each film seems darker and more grown up than the last, with more disturbing moments, visual effects and wizard action. But is this a good thing? Lets find out…

Firstly, I would like to point out that the latest Harry Potter film features spectacular special effects and wand fights, but I can also regrettably say that they were in quite small supply. Although there isn’t exactly no action at all in the film, I expected, especially towards the end, a little bit more thrilling sorcery.

This aside, the acting was top notch as usual for a Harry Potter film, the plot was strong, but perhaps not as strong as some of the previous films, and the cinematography was stunning, with some scenes posing darker environments, and others shedding fabulous light on the screen.

A few matches of quidditch helped to boost up the film in my expectations, as these matches are always thrilling and exciting. Added love interest, but not as much as some people say there is, with Ron the centre of attention this time around. When Ron falls for another girl, Hermione becomes jealous and is at loggerheads with this girl every time she sees her.

WARNING: THIS NEXT SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS

The death of Dumbledore came of no surprise to me, as I clearly remember the event from the Half Blood Prince book. This scene was well done, with Dumbledore falling from a great height to the ground below. Shortly afterwards, the dark wizards and witches suddenly disappear for some reason, and the wizards and witches at Hogwarts raise their wands as a salute for their fallen headmaster. The death mark sign in the sky (I must say, it did look rather effective) is vanquished and Hogwarts is left at peace, for now…

END SECTION

Overall the film is great, well acted, with a compelling plot and brilliant cinematography, but perhaps I expected something more…

8/10

Unit 1.1: Salford Museum and Art Gallery Review

Salford Museum And Art Gallery Review

I went to visit this museum on the same day I visited The Lowry, and must say that Salford Museum and Art Gallery was far superior. While the two may be roughly similar in size, Salford Museum had its very own remade Victorian Street, some large valuable paintings and even a musical Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs section! The Lowry had about a hundred pictures, a twenty minute video, a brief dancing section and an also rather short upstairs exhibition. I’m sure you can at least guess now why I preferred Salford Museum.

Firstly, lets talk about the paintings section of the museum. Once you have entered the museum and walked up the stairs past some small but rather interesting modern artworks, you will notice a room to your left. This is the first of two medium sized rooms covering two very different but fascinating topics- paintings and music. Once inside the room, you will no doubt notice about 25 brilliant and rather large paintings, some pottery and rather fine furniture. Don’t just think that this section is for adults though, as there are plenty of activities for children too, including replicas of olden day’s hats to try on and some activity sheets to keep them busy.

Moving on into the second room, the Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs musical section, you will find that your surroundings have changed dramatically. The paintings have been replaced with a fascinating collection of memorabilia spanning the decades.The pottery replaced with album art covers and photographs, and the fine furniture with a rather large juke box and a piano. The exhibit starts with the 1950’s and ends with the 2000’s with lots of colourful album art, gold discs, a teddy boy outfit and a juke box also adds to the musical feeling with songs from bands spanning from the 50’s all the way to modern day.

Finally, downstairs the Lark Hill Place or Victorian Street is an enchanting attraction, with original shop fronts and some authentic noises to add to the effect. Children will love this part, as it contains plenty of Victorian style costumes they can try on. There’s a horse drawn carriage at the far end, the Blue Lion pub and a chemists shop window. The street has apparently been used for filming television programmes.

Overall: A genuinely worthwhile and interesting place which tries it’s hardest to keep the adults and children happy. A great morning out for the whole family especially the Quiffs Riffs and Tiffs if like me you’re interested in music.

8.5/10

By Patrick Johnson 10S1

Unit 1.1: National Media Museum Review

National Media Museum Review

I must admit, this wasn’t the first time I had visited the National Media museum. About two years ago, I went on a school trip to the museum with the Turton media club. I could not remember much about the outing, only that it was an exciting and wholly worthwhile experience, which ventured into quite a few aspects of film, television and media. I also felt that the first time I went, I did not fully explore all the areas of the museum and only spent time on some of the higher upper floors instead of spending equal time on them all.

I must say that, for anyone, even people who may not be that interested in the media, this museum is a spectacular day out. It’s immense exhibits demonstrated on each floor are fascinating, my favourites being “the Kodak Gallery”, “Experience TV and TV Heaven” and the “Animation Gallery”.

Although a lot of the museum is hands-on experience, just as much is about looking and learning about things as well. For example, while most of the brilliant TV Heaven section encourages you to take part in various activities, eg. being the key reader in a news broadcast and super imposing yourself against a blue screen to create your image on different backgrounds, the equally compelling “Don McCullin: In England” gallery is more a visual experience which includes black and white photographs and an interesting video about both the photographs and Don McCullin himself.

Although I did not see the IMAX movie showing Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince this time, I did see a rather stunning Egyptian documentary on screen the first time I came and remember it quite clearly as an awesome experience.

I did, however attend a guided “insight” tour, around the three million items the museum holds behind closed doors, including the world’s most important photographic collection and the largest collection of TV technology and cinematography in the country. I saw different sized cameras and other objects from past years in various rooms such as the “Large Object” and the “Small Object” rooms. Some very early sixties televisions, and a few of the earliest games and game consoles/computers

plus an excellent tour guide curator, all helped to make the tour even better.

Café food was good, with a quite wide selection and buffet type of routine. There was also a picnic section for people who had brought their own lunches.

Overall, a brilliant and entirely worthwhile experience suitable for anyone no matter how interested in the subject:

9/10

Patrick Johnson 9S1